Method of making laminated case construction



F. S. SCHADE METHOD OF MAKING LAMINATED CASE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 2, 1951 July 28, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII jay.

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METHOD OF MAKING LAMINATED CASE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jim/x 6mm er Selma:

ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1953 METHOD OF MAKING LAMINATED CASE CONSTRUCTION Frank Stanley Schade, Holyoke, Mass., assignor to National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 2, 1951, Serial No. 224,140

2 Claims. (01. 154-83) This invention relates to an improved case construction as a wallet and memorandum pad casing and to a novel method for making the same.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a laminated case construction of plastic sheet materials adapted for use as a wallet and memorandum pad case, stationary portfolia, etui, desk envelope, carrying case, and the like and to provide a method for making a plurality of the same efiiciently and with a minimum of expense.

Other objects, features and advantages of the improved article and method for making it will become apparent from the drawings and accompanying description.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the new wallet and memorandum pad case construction folded into carrying position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same in opened position;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modification;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the elements which are combined to form a plurality of cases, such as the one shown in Figs. 1-4;

Fig. '7 is a plan View of a fragment of one of a plurality of cases made from the elements shown by Fig. 6 and illustrates how aligning buttons or pins may be removed; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross section taken on line B8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1-4 show an example of the new wallet or case construction. It consists of an outside limp sheet member I9, an inside limp sheet member It with an unattached stiffening sheet or stiifener member I2 between, and a pocket forming limp sheet member I3.

An incision or slit I A is provided in inside sheet member II to permit access to the space between this member and the unattached stiffener member I2 for insertion of the tab of a memorandum pad, as will be readily appreciated, or to provide an opening for an additional pocket in the case.

The stiffener member I2 is smaller in area than the limp sheet members ill and H and is so dimensioned that a single integrally welded marginal band I5, formed by bonding overlapping peripheral margins of the sheet members, surrounds the peripheral edges of stifiener member I2 and thus encases the stiffener member between the sheet members. The stiffener member is centered between the sheet members and the marginal band I5 is substantially of the same width all around the stiffening member.

stiffener member I2 also has a central slotted opening I 6 through it and sheet members Ill and I! are also integrally welded together through this opening. The bonding of the sheet members through the slotted opening It prevents any possible displacement or shucking of the unattached stiffener member as well as providing an integral hinge strip I! for the case construction. The strip I1 is centrally spaced on the case construction and divides it into two foldable portions I8 and I9.

The integral marginal band I5 around the periphery of the wallet or case construction and the integral hinge strip I'I centrally spaced on the wallet provide a chamber 2! in each ioldable portion substantially enclosed by the marginal band l5 and hinge strip [1. This medial chamber is formed by the limp sheet member I 0 as an outer wall and limp sheet member II as an inner wall.

The stiffener member I2 extends into each medial chamber and around the ends of the welded hinge strip I! and is loosely held by the band I5 and the strip I l. The stiffener member I2 is not attached to the walls or edge margins of either chamber.

The limp pocket forming sheet member I3, which is also made of similarly thermoplastic material, is positioned on foldable portion 19 of the wallet. The peripheral edges of member I3 are also welded integrally with the marginal band l5. One edge 2i of the sheet member I3 is unattached, and faces the hinge strip I! to form a side pocket 22 in the wallet.

A set of spaced circular holes or openings 23 are provided in limp sheet I I forming the inner wall I9 of chamber 20 in the foldable portion I 8 opposite the portion having pocket 22. Between openings 23 the slit I4 is cut to form a pocket entrance into medial chamber 20 in front of the stiffener member I2. The slit intersects the circular openings at the sides thereof on a line joining the centers of the openings. This provides terminal openings at each end of the slit to reduce any tendency of the material to tear at these ends.

The stiffener member I2 is also provided with circular holes or openings 25 (Fig. 5) corresponding to openings 23 and registering therewith. A slit 26 may also be made between openings 25 in the stiffener member I2 to register with slit I4. A pocket entrance is then formed to the portion of the medial chamber behind the stiffener member l2. A memorandum pad tab inserted through the aligned slits I4 and 26 will then be firmly retained for a more secure backing for the pad. This modification is illustrated by Fig. 5.

According to the method of making the case construction, a bed plate 21 (Fig. 6) or similar surface is used and material for making a number of cases is laid in super imposed relation on the plate for the assembly and bonding operations. Preferably bed plate 21 is one face of an electronic heat sealing tool. The bed plate contains a plurality of band forming raised strip surfaces 28 to form the welded marginal band l on each case construction, as will be described. Also on the plate are spaced hinge strip formin raised strip surfaces 29, one for each case construction to be made on the bed plate.

The strips 28 as seen in the plate of Fig. 6 along corresponding outer side edges of each case may of course be formed as one continuous strip. And the sides of strips 28 lying in adjacent relation to form the side edges of the cases may also be provided by single widened intersecting strips. Figure 6 shows a strip formation for each individual case by way of example.

The bed plate illustrated by Fig. 6 will permit six case constructions to be made at the same time. To do this, a limp sheet of plastic material I3a, large enough and preformed to provide six pocket forming sheet members I3, is first placed in the center of the bed plate in a shallow cavity formed to receive the same.

Overlying sheet I 3a and covering the rest of the bed plate, a rectangular limp sheet of plastic material Ila, large enough to form six inside sheet members II is placed. Bed plate 2'! is provided with a plurality of sets of holes 3!, the holes of J each set being spaced to correspond with a set of terminal openings 23 (Fig. 2) at the ends of the slit I 4 in the inside sheet member of each individual case construction to be formed.

Sheet I la is provided with spaced sets of openings 23 with slits l4 joining each set. The openings are located to register with each set of plate holes 3 I. The sheet may thus be properly aligned on the bed plates by aligning the openings 23 with bed plate holes 3 I Six individual stiffener members I2 are placed on sheet I la, each stiffener member having a set of spaced openings 25 corresponding to the openings 23 in sheet I la and a central slot opening I6 provided for positioning over each hinge band forming strip 29 of the bed plate.

Aligning pins or buttons 32, each having a short shank and headed at one end, are then inserted through openings 25 of stiifeners I2, openings 23 of sheet I la, and then inserted in plate holes 3 I. The openings are thus in registration with the sub-assembly pinned down in the plate overlying the pocket forming sheet I3a.

A limp plastic sheet Illa, of the same size as sheet Ila, is then placed over the stiifeners and aligned with sheet Ila. Sheet I 0a is to form an outside sheet member l0 for each of the siX case constructions.

With the sheets and stiffener so placed on the bed plate, a flat bonding plat or bonding plate with strips mating with strips 28 and 29 may be applied to hold together and bond the portions of sheets Ilia, I la and l3a overlying the band forming raised surfaces 28, and the portions of sheets Illa and Ila overlying the hinge strip forming raised surfaces 29.

.4 With the thermoplastic material for the sheets it has been found preferable to electronically heat seal the sheets together to form the bands I 5 and hinge strips H. To do this the band forming raised surfaces 28 and the hinge strip forming raised surfaces 29 on the bed plate are made electrodes of an electronic generator (not shown) and corresponding electrodes are provided on an upper bonding plate. When power is supplied to the electrodes holding together the overlapped portions of sheets Illa, Ila and I3a, heat is concentrated at the interfaces causing them to soften and intermingle and producing an integral weld essentially as strong as the material itself.

The welded assemblies are then removed from the plate and the six case constructions are cut from it as by a cutting die.

The element aligning buttons 32 are then removed as a final step in each case construction. The stiffener members I2 preferably being of plastic or similar yieldable material, the pins 32 may be forced out through the openings by thumb pressure. Fig. 7 shows one pin 32 still in place and the other removed and in the position relative to the slit terminal opening 23 where it is forced out. Thumb pressure on the exposed shank end will roll the head free of the stiffener opening by merely stretching the material.

As mentioned above, a useful variation in the case construction may be obtained by providing the stiffener member I2 with slit 26 corresponding to slit I l (see Fig. 5). The method of making this assembly is the same. The modification permits access to the space between the stiffener member I2 and the outside limp sheet member I it as well as to the space between the stiffener member l2 and the inside limp sheet I I. An additional pocket is thus formed. When the tab piece of a memorandum pad is inserted behind the stiffener member additional stiffness is supplied in the assembly for retaining the pad.

Because the stiffener member I2 is not attached to the limp sheet members If] and II but is encased between them by the integral welding of their overlapping peripheral portions and the portions at the central opening I6 of the stiffener member I2, the construction has a feeling characteristic of leather. This results from the slight movement of the outer sheets between the fingers when the case is handled, the movement of the sheet members being relative to the stiffener. The limpness of the sheet material used and the elastic properties of the plastic material permit such movement in the laminated arrangement as disclosed.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a laminated case construction of the single fold type of the class described for wallets which consists in forming a set of spaced holes in a limp sheet of thermoplastic material and in a position on said sheet laterally of a central hinge line area and cutting a slit between said spaced holes; forming a central slotted opening in a sheet of stiffening material defining a hinge line area for the case and laterally of said slot forming a correspondingly spaced set of holes for registration with said spaced holes of the thermoplastic sheet, said stiffener sheet being of lesser overall dimensions than said thermoplastic sheet for providing a peripheral marginal edge portion of the latter around said stiffening sheet; superimposing said two sheets with the thermoplastic sheet underneath on a heat sealing tool having spaced holes corresponding to said spaced holes of said sheets;

threading aligning pins having heads of a slightly larger size than said holes through the holes of said sheets and inserting the stems of said pins into the holes of said tool for maintaining the relative positioning of said sheets on said sealing tool; mounting a second sheet of limp thermoplastic material of greater overall dimensions than said stiffener sheet over said superimposed sheets; integrally welding said thermoplastic sheets in the contacting areas of the peripheral marginal edge portions around the stiffening sheet and in the area of said central slot to form an edge band and a central hinge band; removing the assembled casing from the tool and withdrawing the headed aligning pins through the registered openings of said stifiener and limp sheet by flexing the material of said stiffener sheet immediately adjacent said openmgs.

2. The method of making laminated case constructions of the single fold type of the class described for wallets which consists in placing a limp sheet of thermoplastic material against the face of a heat sealing tool and covering adjacent lateral edge portions only of a series of rectangular areas defined by ridges on the tool and having within each said area a centrally disposed single ridge defining a fold line for a wallet and in the lateral portion of each area outwardly of the aforesaid adjacent sides provided with a set of spaced openings in said tool; placing a second limp sheet of thermoplastic material provided with sets of spaced openings with a slit cut therebetween and corresponding in position on said sheet to the sets of openings 6 of said tool and registering the same with said tool openings; mounting on said second limp sheet a plurality of stiffening sheets each having a centrally disposed slotted opening registering with said central ridges and laterally thereof a set of spaced openings in said sheet to register with the openings of one of said rectangu lar areas, with the peripheral edge of said stiffener sheets lying within the boundary defined by said rectangular ridges; threading headed aligning pins in the openings of the superposed stifiener sheets and said second limp sheet and inserting the shanks of said pins in said tool openings; mounting over the subassemblies of said plurality of stiffener sheets and limp plastic sheet, a third limp thermoplastic sheet extending over said rectangular areas; then heat sealing the superposed limp plastic sheets by welding the same integrally in the contacting areas of the rectangular marginal ridges and the central ridges; removing the laminated sheets comprising a plurality of casing assemblies, severing each casing from the other along said marginal welded areas, and withdrawing the headed pins by rolling the same out through the openings in said stiffener sheet and said limp sheet.

FRANK STANLEY SCHADE'.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 702,107 Loomis June 10, 1902 1,683,996 Snow Sept. 11, 1928 2,478,132 Schade Aug. 2, 1949 

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING A LAMINATED CASE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SINGLE FOLD TYPE OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED FOR WALLETS WHICH CONSISTS IN FORMING A SET OF SPACED HOLES IN A LIMP SHEET OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL AND IN A POSITION ON SAID SHEET LATERALLY OF A CENTRAL HINGE LINE AREA AND CUTTING A SLIT BETWEEN SAID SPACED HOLES; FORMING A CENTRAL SLOTTED OPENING IN A SHEET OF STIFFENING MATERIAL DEFINING A HINGE LINE AREA FOR THE CASE AND LATERALLY OF SAID SLOT FORMING A CORRESPONDINGLY SPACED SET OF HOLES FOR REGISTRATION WITH SAID SPACED HOLES OF THE THERMOPLASTIC SHEET, SAID STIFFENER SHEET BEING OF LESSER OVERALL DIMENSIONS THAN SAID THERMOPLASTIC SHEET FOR PROVIDING A PERIPHERAL MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF THE LATTER AROUND SAID STIFFENING SHEET; SUPERIMPOSING SAID TWO SHEETS WITH THE THERMOPLASTIC SHEET UNDERNEATH ON A HEAT SEALING TOOL HAVING SPACED HOLES CORRESPONDING TO SAID SPACED HOLES OF SAID SHEETS; THREADING ALIGNING PINS HAVING HEADS OF A SLIGHTLY 